The McLaren F1 Was Revealed 24 Years Ago And It's As Wonderful As Ever

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Where did the time go?

In 1992, McLaren revealed what it described as a "high performance sports car, dedicated to driving pleasure, yet being habitable and spacious, capable, in fact, of carrying three tall adults and their luggage in great comfort." That car, of course, was the McLaren F1, arguably one of the greatest supercars of all time. McLaren first showed the F1 at the Sporting Club Monaco on Thursday, May 28th, 1992 and the response, obviously, was overwhelmingly positive.

Powered by a BMW-built 6.1-liter V12 spitting out 618 hp and 586 lb-ft of torque, the F1 was McLaren’s vision of the ultimate road car. With plenty of incorporated Formula 1 technology throughout, such as advancements in carbon fiber and aluminum materials, the F1 ultimately challenged the likes of Ferrari and Porsche as to what was then possible with a high performance, street legal machine. Everything was analog, like its six-speed manual transmission and steering system. Computers didn’t completely control the car like they often do today. A total of 106 F1s were built by the time production ended in 1999, and their values today, understandably, are in the tens of millions of dollars.

McLaren even issued a press release to commemorate the F1’s reveal 24 years ago and we can’t wait to see what’s planned for next year at this time when this iconic three-seat supercar hits the quarter century mark. A proper celebration would be most appropriate.